A centralized radio access network (C-RAN) is one way to implement base station functionality. Typically, for each cell implemented by the C-RAN, a single baseband unit (BBU) interacts with multiple remote units (also referred to here as “radio points” or “RPs”).
Although a C-RAN may be used to implement multiple cells, each cell typically includes only a single BBU that implements hosting for the cell (for example, the attach procedure and control-plane termination from the core network), homing for user equipment (UE) (for example, UE context management and user-plane functions), and scheduling and resource allocation.
Typically, there is a limit to the number of UEs that can be served by a given BBU. Additional BBU capacity can be provided by adding additional cells to the C-RAN. However, doing this can result in poor performance at the edges of the cells due to interference. Also, doing this requires handovers to occur as a UE moves from one cell to another, which can lead to delays and/or loss of radio connections.